Dive Brief:

• The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat has analyzed the skyscrapers completed around the world this year and has found that a record-breaking 26 supertall buildings — approximately 984 feet or higher — were completed in 2019. This is eight more than were completed in 2018. At 1,270 feet, 30 Hudson Yards in New York City was the tallest in the U.S.
• The tallest building finished in 2019 was the 1,739-foot-tall Tianjin CTF Finance Centre in Tianjin, China. This is the fifth year in a row that China has produced the tallest building. In fact, China laid claim to 57 of the 126 high rises measuring 656 feet or taller completed in 2019, including 15 in Shenzhen, China. Overall, Asia captured 69%, or 87, of the total. The U.S. saw 14 completions (11%), followed by the Middle East with 11 completions, nine of those in the United Arab Emirates. 
• The 126 tall buildings completed in 2019 fell 13.7% from 2018's figure of 146, the first year that there has been a decline since the 2008 Great Recession caused the cancellation of projects that would have seen completion in 2010 and 2011. The drop, particularly in China, however, is not a definitive sign that the trade war or a potential economic downturn is in play, as so many years go into planning and building these skyscrapers that it is more of a testament to economic conditions five or more years ago, the council said. 

Dive Insight:

The top 15 supertall buildings completed in 2019 were:

1. 1,739 feet - Tianjin CTF Finance Centre in Tianjin, China
2. 1,516 feet - Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg, Russia 
3. 1,476 feet - Suzhou IFS in Suzhou, China
4. 1,460 feet - The Exchange 106 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
5. 1,437 feet - Wuhan Center Tower in Wuhan, China
6. 1,350 feet - LCT The Sharp Landmark Tower in Busan, South Korea
7. 1,270 feet - 30 Hudson Yards in New York City
8. 1,214 feet - Dalian International Trade Center in Dalian, China
9. 1,208 feet - Golden Eagle Tiandi Tower A in Nanjing, China
10. 1,163 feet - Raffles City Chongqing T3N in Chongqing, China
11. 1,163 feet - Raffles City Chongqing T4N in Chongqing, China 
12. 1,145 feet - Spring City 66 in Kunming, China
13. 1,138 feet - Shimao Hunan Center in Changsha China
14. 1,113 feet - LCT The Sharp Residential Tower A in Busan, South Korea
15. 1,093 feet - LCT The Sharp Residential Tower B in Busan, South Korea

The CTBUH identified trends in high-rise construction this past year, including a move toward transit-oriented developments. Across the globe in major cities like Shenzhen, New York City and Tokyo, there has been a high demand for property located next to transportation hubs. The Hudson Yards project in New York City counts four of the 126 projects ranked by the CTBUH in its portfolio of skyscrapers.

Another trend this year, this one in design, is the inclusion of skybridges. The Raffles City Chongqing complex in Chongqing has eight towers, with a curved skybridge connecting the rooftops of four and shorter connectors joining two others. Another project, the Golden Eagle Tiandi in Nanjing, opted for a multistory skybridge that connects three towers, a feature that required extra consideration and engineering since the Golden Eagle is in a seismic zone. 

Looking forward, the CTBUH is predicting that there will be between 115 and 145 projects that are 656 feet or taller completed in 2020 and that between 17 and 30 of these will be supertalls. The geographic locations of these skyscrapers are expected to be somewhat similar next year as well, with 10 buildings in New York City scheduled to finish. The King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, should produce five buildings 656 feet or taller, including two supertalls, in 2020, and the Shengjing Finance Plaza in Shenyang, China, is set to complete 11 high rises. ​